Ripples
by Anime Ayumu
Summary: One-shot. Bakura hates people. Especially the optimists who think they can change the world. He thinks life is just a drop in a bucket. But when Bakura comes across a young boy in the park, he starts second guessing his philosophy. Will Bakura change?


Yay i finally posted a story! This is my first story (that i've posted) so please enjoy! Based on the visual story sim, Ripples.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, so don't sue me!

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><p>Ripples<p>

There's something about people that just rubs me the wrong way. I think it started in grade school. Our teacher blew up a balloon, wrote "Self-Esteem" on the side and taped it to the wall. She explained to us that we were all like the balloon. If we didn't have any self-esteem, we would only be limp and small and sad. Everyone seemed really inspired, but it didn't click very well with me. Watching that balloon, on the deflated a little bit each day until it withered away…I felt that self-esteem didn't do much other than make people falsely large for a little while. But no one seemed to notice. Everyone went along with their short little lives, puffed up with their self-esteem, getting smaller and smaller everyday.

What I hate the most are those idealistic people who think they can change the world. Behind all those ideas of a better life, I think they're just desperate to be remembered. Desperate to keep their withering balloons filled so they can feel important. But things never change. No matter how hard you fight, it hardly makes a difference.

One person's life is just a drop in a bucket.

A lot of people think I'm real pessimist because I think this way, but it doesn't really bother me at all. It's easier to live life if I don't have to worry about changing the world. That way, I can just concentrate on what I want, like my photography. The pictures I take will last longer than I ever will. Not like it matters. All I ever photograph is nature. Things that will never change until the end of time.

I hate photographing people. I hate people who leap into my view, prancing around and waving their arms, desperate to be captured on film so they'll be remembered. There's no way I'll ever capture such worthless things on film. When people die, they're gone, and that's fine with me.

The city I live in isn't very large, but there are so many places hidden away that I find something new whenever I explore.

~animefreaks~

Monday

Today, It's this place: a small park tucked away between a row of trees and an old school building. There doesn't seem to be much here worth photographing, but at least there aren't any people either.

I aim my camera at a nearby bush to check the lighting. It's late afternoon, but the sun is till high enough for me to get some decent shots.

What's that sound? Something behind the bush is moving. I creep forward, holding my camera in front of ma as if it would prove a decent shield, should something leap out at me. Considering how much this camera cost, I'd probably be better off taking the hit.

It's a boy. What's he doing here?

Is he…crying?

I take an uncertain step back. If some guy wants to use this place for his secret crying spot, I want no part in it.

But the sound of crying sounds more like….cats…...

"Oh, hello!" he says, turning his head. He looks up at me calmly, and I realize he's patting a small kitten on the head. Two more kittens are rolling with each other on the ground beside him. They must have been the source of the crying I heard.

"Uh…hey," I say uncertainly. "Sorry to bother you. I'm just gonna…go." I start to turn away.

"You're not a bother. Stay," he responds. The kitten that he's patting yawns lazily and paws at his hand. "Oh. Here you go." He pulls out a cookie and holds it above the kitten's mouth. The kitten bats at the cookie with its paw before clamping the cookie tightly between its tiny teeth.

"What are you feeding them?" I ask. The boy gets up and brushes himself off before answering. "Cookies. I baked them myself this morning."

"Sure seems like a waste to feed them to a bunch of cats," I scoff.

He smiles brightly. "No, it's worth it."

"They're just gonna die anyway, you know. Strays rarely live long on the streets," I inform him.

"So?"

"So why bother feeding them?"

"They're hungry. Do I need anymore reason than that?"

"I guess not. But why cookies?"

"Because they're the only ones who will eat it…" he trailed off.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I have to be home soon." He gives the kitten in his arms a fond pat before leaving. He didn't even say goodbye to me. I don't know if I should be offended or not, but I guess it doesn't matter. The kittens swarm around my feet and I kneel to take a few pictures of them.

Ah…but it's already getting too dark for me to take any decent shots. At least, not with this camera anyway. Oh well, I guess I won't be taking a lot of pictures today after all.

~animefreaks~

Tuesday

I don't know why I came back here. I keep telling myself it's just for photography, since I didn't get any good shots yesterday, but…I'm pretty sure in just lying to myself.

"Ah! You came back!" I hear a voice say. I turn around to see the boy from yesterday. "I just wanted to take a couple pictures."

"I'll get out of the way then." He moves out of his position right in front of me. I snap a few half-hearted shots, but I keep glancing at him and all the kittens swarming his feet.

"What are you feeding them today?" I ask.

"Hm…I guess you could call them doughnuts," he answered.

"Did you make those yourself too?"

"Sure did. This morning before school. I had to get up early to make them."

"Why?"

"Well, the dough needs time to rise properly, you see," he informed me.

"That's not what I meant," I told him.

"Oh? Then what?"

"Why work so hard just to make food for a bunch of cats?"

"I told you. It's because they eat it." He smiled again. "I've always loved baking, you know. The best thing about it is being able to share it with others. There was a point in time where I wanted to own my own bakery." He closed his eyes in thought of the memory.

"So?"

"Last year, for a school project I baked muffins for the entire class. I woke up early so they'd be fresh and I filled them with the best ingredients I could afford. I wanted them to be something special." His face fell slightly. "Except…no one liked them. A lot of girls wouldn't even try them, claiming they had strict diets. I was so happy when a couple of boys took some, but then they threw them at each other. I even gave some to the teachers, who seemed to appreciate it. But at the end of the day, I found them in the trash."

"Well, yeah. People never appreciate things they're supposed to. Working so hard for them in such a waste of time."

"Maybe…After school I came here. I wanted to cry, but these little guys came and cheered me up. I fed them the rest of the muffins, and they ate them without hesitation. Ever since then, I've brought them something every day. As a way of saying thanks."

"Thanks for what?"

"For being happy when they eat my food. What I like more than anything else is seeing people smile when they eat what I bake I want to cheer people up and make the world a better place!"

"That's stupid." I snort.

His face and tone of voice became deadpan. "Stupid?" he questions.

"Cheering people up is pointless. They'll just get depressed again anyway. And then they die."

"…Do you really think that?"

"Um…yeah." I answer.

"I see. That's awfully nihilistic of you."

"Don't tell me you're gonna go all philosophy on me."

"No. Well I have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow."

"What?"

"My name is Ryou." He introduces herself. "And you are?"

"…Bakura." I tell, for that is my name.

Ryou smiles at me. "Then I'll see you tomorrow, Bakura."

"Don't count on it."

"Of course."

He smiles fondly at me and leaves. Again, the kittens turn their attention to me, but I don't bother to take any pictures of them. This place is so boring and it's much too dark anyway. Even though I didn't get very many shots, I don't think I'll be coming back here.

~animefreaks~

Wednesday

And yet…somehow...

"Hello, Bakura." Ryou greets me. "You're only here to take pictures, right?" he asks, winking.

"Yeah. The ones I developed last night weren't so good."  
>"You develop your photos?" He sounds genuinely surprised. For some reason, I feel a little victorious.<p>

"Digital is too easy. It's no fun anymore. Makes you sloppy, to, since you can afford to make mistakes."

"I see. This is for you." He hands me a small plastic bag with a ribbon tied around it.

"What is it?"

"Cookies. You want some, right?"

"What makes you think that?"

"You came back, didn't you?" He says playfully, sticking his tongue out.

With a sigh I open the package. I am greeted by the sweet smell of cinnamon and chocolate. I take a bite of one. It's actually quite good. For a moment, I wonder why anyone would even think of disliking this boy's cooking. I guess that's just the nature of people.

"I'm sorry." Ryou looks disappointed.

"What?" I'm curious to know why he's apologizing.

"You're not smiling. It must not be very good," he reasons.

"That's not it. I'm just a bit angry that people don't appreciate your baking."

He smiles. "Don't be. If you think it tastes good, then smile!"

"Why are you trying so hard to get me to smile?" I demand.

"You don't look like a happy person," he tells me innocently.

His honestly is like an arrow to my heart.

"That's really none of your business," I say.

"It is if you keep coming here to see me."

"I didn't say I came to see you."

Ryou sticks his tongue out again. "You didn't have to."

"Besides, it doesn't even matter. I'll just end up depressed again tomorrow anyway." I state.

"Then I'll bring you more cookies tomorrow."

"Do you really want to see me smile that badly?" I question.

"I want to see everyone smile!"

"Ah, another impossible dream. This is why I hate people so much."

Ryou's face becomes concerned. "You don't like people?"

"Of course not! They always ruin things."

"Oh? How so?" he asks.

"Well, they jump into pictures when I don't want them to, or fuss over their appearance as if it really makes a difference," I answer. "I can't stand it! They're all so annoying."

"Am I annoying?" Ryou looks worried.

"Uhh…"

Optimists like Ryou have always aggravated me, but there's something about his straightforward honesty that's really refreshing.

"I-I don't know," I say, finally answering her. He giggles and turns his attention back to the kittens, fondly patting one on the head. "Fair enough."

I try to explain. "It's not that you're annoying or anything. It's just…" I strain my mind, trying to figure out how to explain my feelings. "I just don't like people who think they can change the world."

"Why not?"

Because it's dumb! One person's life is just a drop in a bucket after all."

Ryou gets straight-faced. "You don't really believe that," he says a-matter-of-factly.

"Yes I do!" I defend. "It's better than believing I can actually change anything!"

"Then why are you here?"

"Wh-what?" His question caught me of guard.

A look of determination crosses his face. "You want to believe it, but you're just afraid to! You're afraid you that you can't make a difference so you don't try!"

"That's not-" I can't bring myself to deny her statement.

His usual soft smile returns to his face. "Bakura…"

"Yeah?"

"My life may just be a single drop, but every drop of water leaves ripples."

He leaves before I can respond. I don't have a response anyway. Normally, I'd be angry if anyone else tried to sell some trite inspirational phrase to me. But this is different. He wasn't trying to sell me anything. It's really what he believes. Ryou is so cheerful and confident, but there's nothing about him that's desperate or puffed up. He believes he can change the world with nothing more than cookies and a smile. Honestly…I don't know if he can…

But I know he managed to change me.

The sun is setting and as I raise my camera to photograph it, I can't help but wonder what he'll bring me tomorrow. Maybe I should bring him something.

Maybe I'll ask if I can take his picture.

_This is only the first drop._

~End~

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><p>Well? Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! X3<p> 


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